


Letting Him In

by mylatestobssession



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Secret Santa Fic, hinted at past of robert's, i have no idea what to tag tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 04:09:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9054745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mylatestobssession/pseuds/mylatestobssession
Summary: Robert finally shows Aaron a glimpse of what his life was like away from Emmerdale Village.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inloveamateursatbest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inloveamateursatbest/gifts).



> This is my not any more 'secret' santa fic for @inloveamateursatbest

Aaron hated early mornings. He still wasn’t sure why they were going to London. Robert had said it was for Christmas but with Leeds and Manchester a lot closer and in Aaron’s opinion just as good, he knew there was something that Robert wasn’t telling him. 

Begrudgingly Aaron woke up to his alarm shrieking at 5:30am. Surprisingly Robert was already awake and walking into the room full dressed with a cup of tea in hand. 

“Morning love.”   
Aaron smiled lightly as he took the drink from him. 

He wasn’t sure how they had managed it but they were at the station on time for their 7am train which Robert had insisted had been first class. Which as he smelt the breakfast cooking, Aaron certainly wasn’t going to complain at. 

They reached Kings Cross just after 9:30. The station and street was already bustling with commuters and tourists. Each person moving determinedly to the train or tube station. Aaron was about to follow the stream of people when Robert stopped him and half pulled him away from the line of people moving. 

“What are you doing? I thought we were heading for the tube?”

“We are its just, I haven’t been completely honest about why I brought you here today.”

Aaron scowled. While not entirely surprised, for once it would be nice if Robert would tell him the truth straight away. 

“I didn’t tell you encase the planned changed okay.” He explains. 

“Okay so where are we going?”

“It’s a secret.”

Aaron looks unsure but his curiosity wins out. Robert takes his hand and leads him to the tube station. They took the tube to Brixton. Despite it being the middle of December it was warm enough that they boys took their coats off while they walked down what felt like an endless stream of suburban streets, each becoming more derelict than the last.   
They finally stopped walking outside an abandoned house which managed to out do all the other buildings surrounding it. Robert moved towards the house. 

“Are you sure it’s say.” Aaron asked, his uncertainty clear. 

“Yeah it’ll be fine.” He smiled at Aaron. 

Walking into the house they were meet with a depressing site. Everything around them was rotted and covered with mould. Rats could be seen running through the room. Aaron was shocked to see the smile on Robert’s face. Robert completely unconcerned by his surroundings ran straight for the stairs.   
Aaron followed him. Each second they were here he was more curious about why they were here. The upstairs surprised him. Yes, it was still shabby and moulding but not as bad as downstairs. 

“Believe it or not, this place has been done up since I lived here.” 

Aaron felt his mouth drop. 

“You lived here?”

“Yeah.” He looked uncomfortably. He had to do this though. Aaron was right, Robert knew almost everything about him even the bits Aaron would have happily taken to his grave. Yet there were nine years of his life that nobody in Emmerdale knew about, well ignoring his involvement with the White family. This was the first step. 

“You know the circumstances in which I left the village. Now I think it’s time I told you what happened when I left.” Aaron nodded. Robert took a breath. 

“As you know I left the village at nineteen. All I had on me was £200 and a car. On a whim while driving down the M62 I saw the sign for London, I decided to head there. Like every troubled teen.” He gave a laugh which Aaron could sense a little bitterness in. 

“It wasn’t until I reached London that the reality of my situation hit me. I spent the first month in the car. Barely slept the entire time. Too scared that someone would try and steal it when I was asleep. One night I was out searching for jobs when I got mugged by some idiots on drugs. They took all my money, car keys, everything I had. Which I’ll admit was pathetic anyway.” 

He looked Aaron and saw the sadness in his eyes. He continued, ignoring the little lump developing in his throat. 

“I didn’t bother going back to the car. What was the point. Nothing was in it. It wasn’t like I had time to get a change of clothes before I left. Anyway, I took to wondering the streets. Trying even harder than before to find a job with money. After two weeks, I began to give up hope. That was when I ran into Steve. He offered me a place to stay and food if I did a few odd jobs for him.”

The revulsion on Robert’s face makes Aaron want to ask but he knows better. He nods wanting Robert to continue. 

“It got better after that. You wouldn’t believe how even this place felt like heaven after living on the streets of London for two weeks. I stayed in this flat for just over a year before I was able to work myself out of the place.” 

Aaron's mind seemed to be working overtime as he absorbed the fact that Robert had had to be himself out of the situation. The butterflies in his stomach felt uneasy. He wasn’t a naive child he knew what this all meant. It wasn’t a big leap, a scared lonely nineteen-year-old in the big city. Homeless. Vulnerable. Easy to prey on. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to ask. Too afraid of the answer. 

Robert seemed to be unaware of the clogs ticking in Aaron’s brain as he continued. 

“I got a new place, that didn’t actually have mould on the walls. Well not that you could see at any rate.” He laughed trying to lighten the mood. 

“I found work at an insurance firm in Canary Warf. Finally, I made it. I could afford a tiny flat. No bigger than our bathroom. I was happy. I was finally able to be the man I knew my dad would be proud of. I worked my way up. Perfected the suave man that stands here before you.” He winked. 

“I met Lawrence at a function. He hired me based on my knowledge of agriculture. His crush on me helped massively I’ll admit.” Aaron rolled his eyes. 

“You know the rest. It wasn’t long before I moved back to Emmerdale.” 

Robert finished speaking and let the sigh of relief pass through him. He had done it. It hadn’t been hard but he knew the conversation would be far from over. He knew that just by looking at his face. 

Aaron was looking at the flat. 

“So where was your bedroom.” 

Robert pointed towards the room opposite them. “I shared it with two other men. Marcus and Ryan. They were good lads.” 

“You didn’t keep in touch.” A shadow passed Robert’s face. 

“Marcus was killed in a hit and run accident and Ryan went to prison for drug offences.” 

“Oh shit Robert, I am so sorry.” He reached out to grab Robert’s hand and gave it a squeeze. 

“Thank you for telling me all of this. I know it wasn’t easy for you.” 

Robert smiled not sure of how to respond. 

“Now I finally understand your obsession with the finer things in life.” Aaron winked. The teasing tone obvious. Robert tickled him in response. 

“Ok. Ok. As much as I am loving you being honest with me. I really would like to get of this rat-infested hole.” 

“Hey this was my home!”

“Well it’s a pile of garbage.”

They leave the house smiling and laughing. The weather is still warm. 

“Right now, that story time is over how about we get the Christmas shopping done.” Robert asks. Aaron agrees. 

“Right let’s go do something insane and go onto Oxford Street 3 days before Christmas.”

They walk hand in hand towards the street. Arguing over what they wanted to buy people.


End file.
